Planning Initiatives and Documents

Commercial District Rezonings

The City has initiated the public hearing process for the rezonings and text amendments for the commercial districts on Folly. The Public Hearings will be held by the Planning Commission at City Hall on Monday, May 2 beginning at 6:00PM. A summary of the proposed changes is below. Questions can be submitted to jstephens@follybeach.gov. More detailed information can be found by reviewing the City Council and Planning Commission meetings held over the last several months.

All meetings can be streamed here: Folly Beach – YouTube

11/11/21: Special-Work-Session-Agenda-1.pdf (cityoffollybeach.com)

12/6/22: PC-Agenda-12.6.21-Joint-Work-Session-1.pdf (cityoffollybeach.com)

12/14/21: City-Council-Agenda-12.14.21.pdf (cityoffollybeach.com)

1/11/22: City-Council-Agenda-1.11.22.pdf (cityoffollybeach.com)

2/7/22: PC-Agenda-2.7.22.pdf (cityoffollybeach.com)

2/8/22: Amended.City-Council-Agenda-2.8.22-1.pdf (cityoffollybeach.com)

3/8/22: 3.8.22-City-Council-Draft-Agenda.pdf (cityoffollybeach.com)

4/4/22: Joint-Work-Session-4.4.22.pdf (cityoffollybeach.com)

If your property is located between Center Street and the alleys behind Center Street on either the West or East side:

The City proposes to rezone the portion of Center Street between Ashley and Arctic from Island Commercial to Downtown Commercial (see Public Notice for Ordinance 013-22). Along with the rezoning of this block, all properties between Center Street and the alleys behind it will be included in a new Center Street Overlay zoning (see Public Notice for Ordinance 012-22). The Center Street overlay will include zoning changes that change the rules for building in this area:

- Buildings required to be flood proofed at grade rather than elevated.
- Limit new buildings to 34’ from grade/two stories and count rooftop decks as a full story.
- Exempt public/semipublic spaces at the sidewalk from lot coverage totals to encourage the development of porches, dining areas, courtyards, and decks adjacent to the street.
- Eliminate multifamily use.
- Eliminate standalone residential uses units on Center Street.
- Remove parking requirements for all uses except residential and tourist accommodations.

If your property is located on the first block of East Ashley between Ashley and Cooper:

The zoning of your property will remain Downtown Commercial. The proposed changes to the Downtown Commercial District that will affect your property are:

- A front, rear, and side setback of 10’ instead of the 0’ setback now required (see Public Notice for Ordinance 011-22)
- Removing multifamily uses (see Public Notice for Ordinance 011-22).
- Requiring new development and substantial improvements to construct a portion of the City’s approved pedestrian paths (see Public Notice for Ordinance 015-22).

If your property is between the Center Street alley and the mid block beach access :

The City proposes to rezone your property from Downtown Commercial to Island Commercial (see Public Notice for Ordinance 010-22). Your property would then be subject to the changes proposed for the Island Commercial District including:

Buildings limited to 40’ from centerline of the nearest public street and three stories. Parking areas below buildings would count as a story as would rooftop decks to prevent 3 stories on top of parking (see Public Notice for Ordinance 009-22).
Front, rear, and side setbacks increased set 10‘ to minimize massing of buildings and crowding at property lines (see Public Notice for Ordinance 009-22).
Require new development to construct portions of business district pedestrian improvements (see Public Notice for Ordinance 015-22).

If your property is located on the second block West between Ashley and Arctic:

The zoning of your property is proposed to change from Island Commercial to Residential Two Family (see Public Notice for Ordinance 008-22). All existing multifamily housing in this block would be allowed to be rebuilt in the event of a disaster (see Public Notice for Ordinance 007-22).

If your property is outside of the listed areas and currently zoned Island Commercial:

Your property would be subject to the changes proposed for the Island Commercial District including:

Buildings limited to 40’ from centerline of the nearest public street and three stories. Parking areas below buildings would count as a story as would rooftop decks to prevent 3 stories on top of parking (see Public Notice for Ordinance 009-22)
Front, rear, and side setbacks increased set 10 ‘to minimize massing of buildings and crowding at property lines.
Require new development to construct portions of business district pedestrian improvements (see Public Notice for Ordinance 015-22).

If your property is not currently zoned commercial and not in any of the areas above:

You are receiving this notice because we are required to notify you of potential zoning changes for properties located near yours. None of the proposed ordinances will apply to your property.